First responders throughout southern Maine were busy responding to numerous vehicle crashes Sunday afternoon.
Freezing rain led to slick conditions quickly, according to Gorham police Sgt. Daniel Young.
“It was probably within a matter of 15 to 20 minutes, maybe a half an hour, that we started seeing the roads starting to ice up,” Young said.
Crews responded to a six-car wreck in Gorham on Flaggy Meadow Road around 1 p.m. Police say four separate crashes happened one after another within less than a quarter mile. Nine people were involved and five of them were taken to the hospital as a precaution. Gorham police said everyone is expected to be OK.
In New Gloucester, one woman lost control of her car on Route 26 near Ricker Road around 12:45 p.m. The woman told CBS 13 she fishtailed and side-swiped a pickup truck. No one was hurt in crash.
“I kept checking it all the way down Route 26, and it wasn’t slippery. I just happened to hit it,” said Bernice Griffin.
A police cruiser was hit from behind in Cumberland on Sunday afternoon while an officer was responding to a crash on Blanchard Road. The officer was inside the cruiser at the time. No serious injuries were reported.